I like mythology and folklore. Okay, I LOVE mythology and folklore. I’ve got books on everything from Babylon to China, shelves full of little rubber monsters, a disturbingly varied amount of religious studies, and two history degrees. DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID, MONSTER IN MY POCKET?

(Yeah, MIMP wasn’t what first got me liking monsters, but it really helped introduce me to a lot of the stuff that’s out there).

Anyway, Demon’s Chronicle is a toyline produced by the fairly-small Japanese company, Yanoman – yanoman makes figures on everything from real people (like Akira Kurosawa) to classic movie monsters, mythological creatures, cryptids, and stuff like that. One of their lines is Demon’s Chronicle – a lot of 2″-3″ demons, angels, and other (mostly) western mythological figures.

Each one stands on a base, and they can function as chess pieces provided you keep track of which is which. Because it’s a Japanese line based on (mostly) western mythology, most of it is really hard to find, and really expensive. I have been collecting these guys for years, little by little, and trust me, it pays to be patient. The first several figure series are practically impossible to find, as much as I would like them (NOTE: I want Stolas, Buer, Bael, and Amon, please), but you’ll find a lot of the mid-to-newer stuff on eBay at various times.

Logistically speaking, the toys are:

-Demons from the Dictionnaire Infernal, primarily those from the Ars Goetia (The Ars Goetia, or Lesser Key of Solomon, is a really old book of demons and demonology/demon-summoning derived from a lot of older traditions, ranging from ancient Europe to Jewish tradition. It’s an interesting view on how people viewed the celestial and infernal throughout history.)

-Angels from Biblical and extra-Biblical tradition

-Demons that might not be from the Dictionnaire, but are otherwise significant

-Egyptian deities (two whole waves were devoted to this)

-Signs of the Zodiac (only had one wave)

-Chinese mythical deities and the heroes of The Journey to the West (only had one wave)

-Female versions of several earlier figures (only had one wave)

-Random monsters from Greek or other Western sources, ranging from a Harpy to the Cockatrice to even Fafnir the Dragon.

Of the above, the girl-ized and zodiac figures were probably their worst ideas (so much nudity. So, so much nudity.  And you don’t want to see what happened to Behemoth), and the Chinese and Egyptian series’ also falter a little. But the rest is incredible – toys of Goetic demons, accurate to the original artwork! For someone like me, that’s amazing! And concerning the angels, we have a Biblically-accurate Ezekiel’s Wheel, and an almost-accurate Living Creature Cherub, which are just perfect if you wanted to re-enact that weird, weird prophetic vision of Zeke’s.

Each little figure is made up of tons of tiny pieces, and unfortunately some of them fall apart rather easily – storing these guys safely can be a concern if you’re not careful. The bases are also heavier resin, so store them separately. The figures are blind-packed, but if you’re in the US, you’ll probably have to buy full sets off eBay. Sorry about that. So, why are these cool? Well, want to know about some of them? Well, let’s take a look at a few! Click on each to see a bigger, more detailed description of the original figure and character on my flickr account. On to the gallery!

Glasya-Labolas (Caacrinolas) and Marchosias

Vepar and Botis

Amduscias and Orobas

Arioch and Deumus

Furfur and Ipos

Haborym and Agares

Pazuzu and Baalzephon

Ophanim (Ezekiel’s Wheel) and The Living Creature (Cherub)

The Archangel Gabriel and an Angelic Virtue

A Salamander and A Sylph

Zhuque and Sha Wujing

Expect to see more of these guys in the Figure Photos of the Day! You’ve already seen the Harpy, after all! And yes, I do have a few duplicates, though not many, and you’ll have to ask me if you are interested.